Cowgirls overpower Hawks - Central Oregonian

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Lon Austin

The Crook County Cowgirls rolled out to a 5-0 lead, and never trailed as they blasted the La Pine Hawks 66-37 Friday night in non-league basketball action.

“We did a nice job of pressing the ball and that seemed to create some turnovers — which gave us some momentum,” said Crook?County head coach Dave Johnson following the game.

The Cowgirls’ press created seven Hawks turnovers in the opening quarter. Once Crook County had the ball, they attacked the basket, leading to a number of La Pine fouls.

The Cowgirls went 7 for 7 from the foul line in the quarter, as they opened up a 21-11 lead.

Crook County continued to extend their lead in the second quarter, outscoring La Pine 18-9 to take a 39-20 halftime lead.

The second half was more of the same, as the Cowgirls continued to run past the Hawks. By the end of the third period, Crook County led 50-24. With the huge lead, the Cowgirls relaxed their defensive pressure, and coasted to the easy victory.

All 12 Crook County players scored in the game as the Cowgirls made 46 percent of their shots, including going 5 for 11 from behind the three-point line.

“We moved the ball well against their zone,” Johnson said. “Their zone was a pretty aggressive zone. They were working pretty hard on defense, but with the ball movement we had a lot more assists tonight.”

Crook County finished with 15 assists in the game, while their tenacious defense limited the Hawks to just 12 baskets in 55 attempts (22 percent).

Brooke Buswell led a balanced Crook County attack with 13 points, six rebounds, and three assists.

Jessie Loper added 10 points and three steals, while Kayla Morgan chipped in with nine points. Jena Ovens came off the bench to score seven points, as Makayla Lindburg added six points, 10 rebounds, three assists, and two blocked shots.

The blow-out victory came the night after a tough loss to No. 1-ranked Madras.

“It’s nice that we are bouncing back,” Johnson said. “We are playing hard and we play a lot of people. The nice thing is that everyone gets in the book, and everyone scored tonight.”

With the win, the Cowgirls are 7-5 on the season, while La Pine fell to 5-7.

The Cowgirls are back in action tonight when they host the Sisters Outlaws, a team they have already defeated twice this season. Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m. Then on Friday, Crook County is scheduled to host Roosevelt in their lone Special District I home game of the season, with action scheduled to begin at 5:45 p.m.

Friday, January 6

at Crook County

La Pine (37) — Katie Ebner 12, Wieber 11, Mickel 6, Fogel 3, Town 3, Glenn 2, Boem, Porter, Huddleston. Totals 12 10-16 37.

Crook County (66) — Brooke Buswell 13, Loper 10, Morgan 9, Ovens 7, Lindburg 6, Apperson 5, Walker 4, Johnston 4, Saenz 3, Solomon 2, Martin 2, McKenzie 1. Totals 23 15-23 66.

La Pine 11 9 4 13 — 37

Crook County 21 18 11 16 — 66

Three-point goals — La Pine: Wieber, Fogel, Town; Crook County: Loper 2, Buswell, Morgan, Ovens.